Leaving a message
by In the Fob Watch
Summary: The Doctor crosses his own timeline and seeks Jackie's help in passing on a vital message.
1. A visit to Jackie

"Doctor?!" Jackie Tyler yelped, throwing open the door. "Where's Rose? Why isn't she with you? What happened, Doctor, WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?!"

"Shh, shh, shhh," the Doctor hushed Jackie, knowing that he would not be able to get a word in until he managed to shut her up. "Rose is fine, she's alive, she hasn't been kidnapped or anything, it's alright," he said, comforting her worst fears.

"Then why are you here?" Jackie asked, still suspicious.

"I need you to do me a huge favour. I'm crossing my own timeline to do this, which is quite dangerous, but it is _extremely_ important that this happens."

"Well, you'd best come in."

The Doctor entered the flat, wincing at the fact that it still smelt like Rose. He knew this trip was going to be difficult, but the pain of the loss still hit him like a brick wall. Jackie, thankfully, didn't notice, she was in the kitchen making tea.

A few minutes later, Jackie marched into the living room. "Explain," she demanded, handing a steaming mug to the Doctor.

"Firstly, I need to warn you, I will have to suppress your memories of this visit until they are triggered by a certain event that I know will take place."

"Wait, so you mean you want me to forget this ever happened?" Jackie asked, apprehensively.

"Yup," the Doctor confirmed, nodding slowly. "It is essential that Rose and I do not find out about our future, and I'm going to tell you stuff about yours that you shouldn't know yet."

Jackie looked confused. "So your past self is going to visit me after this?"

"Yeah. But don't worry, Rose will be with me when we call in."

"But she's not with you now."

"No."

"Where is she, Doctor?" Jackie was starting to panic again. "What's happened to my daughter?"

"It's okay. She's with you... and Pete."

"WHAT?" Jackie cried. "Pete's dead, I identified the body. Do I die to? I thought you said Rose was alive? Doctor, how can she and I be with a dead man?!"

So the Doctor told her all about the parallel universe, about Torchwood and the Battle of Canary Warf, and about how their names ended up on the list of the dead. By the time he got to the farewell at Bad Wolf Bay, Jackie's mascara was running down her face, and the Doctor's eyes were blurry.

"...then I replied, 'Rose Tyler, I...'" the Doctor sniffed, looked down, and put on a brave face, before continuing, "I never got to say it back."

"She'll never know," realised Jackie. "That's what you need me for. To pass on the message."

"Yup. I need you to give her this envelope. In it, is a letter telling her how I feel, and some photos and stuff, so she has something solid to remind her of the good times. It is essential that you pass this on, as it is," the Doctor instructed, pulling out a small but thick envelope from his pocket.

Jackie reached to take it, but hesitated. "Hold on," she questioned, "How am I supposed to know when to bring this along if I can't remember you giving it to me?"

"Your pockets. I'll place a subconscious reminder not to wear those pants until the set date, and not to check the pockets until the trigger time."

"Pockets. Got it."

"Good. you might also want to slip in a small thing of your own. You won't need money or anything, but maybe something special, a memento or something."

"Okay." Jackie ran to put the letter, along with her mother's necklace, in the jacket, before returning. The Doctor was standing up to leave.

"Oh, don't go, I haven't even told you about this nasty bloke Elton who is trying to track you and Rose down," Jackie complained.

"Rose and I'll be popping in for a chat soon, you can tell us then. I need to wipe your mind now. You'll wake up in a couple of minutes, with absolutely no memory of this. You might be a bit confused though..."

"Oh, I know, pop the telly on," Jackie suggested. "Daytime telly is dead boring, I'll think I've fallen asleep to that. Wouldn't be the first time."

"Thank you so much Jackie," the Doctor grinned.

"No, thank you. You made my daughter happy, and you're going to bring Pete back," Jackie smiled. "As much as I hate to say it, I owe you one."

"Jackie Tyler," the Doctor beamed, "I would have been proud to call you my mother-in-law." With that, he placed his hands on Jackie's temples, and locked away her memory of that visit until he appeared at Bad Wolf Bay. Leaving a snoring Jackie on the couch in front of an old movie on the television, the Doctor walked back to the TARDIS. He knew that he could trust Jackie to eventually pass on the letter, the photos, and the ring.


	2. Bad Wolf Bay

"There!" Rose shouted, and Pete quickly turned off the main road, parking the jeep on the deserted beach.

"You sure this is it?" Mickey asked

"Yep, it's here," said Rose, certain that this was the place from the dream.

"Dalig Ulv Straden. Wonder what that means?" Jackie read from the GPS. Mickey typed it into his laptop, and snorted.

"You'll never guess what the translator reckons," he grinned.

"Give it here," Rose said, snatching the laptop. She gasped. "This is definitely the right spot then. I suppose I was destined to end up here,"

"What is it, sweetheart? What does it mean?" Jackie was getting impatient and slightly worried.

Rose didn't answer, as she had already jumped out of the car. Instead, Mickey told her, and they hopped out to follow Rose.

It was cold and windy outside. Rose walked forwards, following the voice in the dream, while the others hung back at the car. Jackie was starting to think they had come all this way on a wild goose chase, when the Doctor appeared a few metres in front of Rose.

Jackie gasped and leaned back against the car as the memories came flooding back. Pete glanced across at her in concern, but assuming that is was just the shock of a man appearing out of thin air, he returned to watching Rose and the Doctor once he saw that Jackie was in no danger.

Jackie, meanwhile, remembered the Doctor's little mementos, and quickly, so that nobody noticed, she checked her pockets. Sure enough, everything was in there. A smile crept on her face, until she realised what the Doctor has said would happen.

The wind was blowing in their direction, sending over snippets of the Doctor and Rose's conversation. Jackie already knew what they were saying from what the Doctor had told her. She smiled to herself when there was the confusion about whether Rose was pregnant or not, and reached out to grab Pete's hand on cue when Rose explained to the Doctor what was really going on. When Rose told the Doctor that she loved him, however, Jackie held her breath, knowing that he wouldn't get to say it in return.

Sure enough, the Doctor faded away, leaving Rose in tears. Jackie ran up to her daughter, holding her as her body wracked with sobs. Thankfully, Pete and Mickey stayed back, knowing that what Rose needed most at the moment, apart from the Doctor, was he mother.

Once Rose had somewhat gathered herself and was no longer in danger of collapsing into a sobbing mess on the sand, Jackie decided to tell her. "He was going to say it back, sweetheart,"

"How do you know?" sobbed Rose. "He didn't say it, he might not have been going to say it at all."

She broke into a fresh round of sobs, needing another couple of minutes of Jackie's support.

"I know he was going to tell you, Rose," Jackie continued. "You might have doubted it, but it was obvious to everyone around you."

"Really?" Rose asked, with a hint of hope.

"Yes, I'm sure. Besides, he even risked crossing his own timeline to give me this."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the heavy envelope, handing it to her anxious daughter. Rose tore it open, and Jackie turned and went to talk to Pete and Mickey, giving Rose what privacy she could on an open beach.

Rose walked over to the rocks, sat down, and pulled out the envelope.

_To my Rose,_

_The fact that you're reading this now (if in fact it is you that it reading it, not someone else who somehow managed to get their hands on this letter), means that my visit to Jackie will have worked. As I write this, I'm formulating a plan to cross my own timeline (oh, the things I do for you!). _

_Hopefully, if all goes well, Jackie will have just remembered that I gave her this letter to pass on, and will have done so __without__ peaking at the letter. I'm going to write things in this letter which are for your eyes, __not__ Jackie Tyler's (unless you feel that you really want to share them with her, in which case, go ahead)._

_But _anyway_, your mother aside (I did __not__ break the laws of time travel just to talk about your mother), the whole point of this letter is to pass on what I didn't get to say. Or explain._

_You're probably wondering why I said 'quite right too'. I suppose it was more to myself than to you. I fell for you so quickly, but I never wanted to admit it. I kept trying to hide from this crazy human emotion that I somehow feel around you. You know why: I live too long. I've lost so much in the past, but nothing could compare to how I knew I would feel now, having lost you. Not that that's any excuse for denying both of us something __so__ special, but I suppose I was slightly terrified. Ironically, it was only in our last few weeks together that I realised that I needed that wall to come down, that how feeling this way for you is the right thing._

_I was going to say it. I hope you know that. I've said it before, but never when you could remember. I've said it to you when you've been unconscious, or sleeping, or even when you've been awake but not close enough to hear me whisper it. You've almost caught me saying it a few times, I wish now that I'd had the courage to say it louder, instead of changing the topic. But enough procrastinating, the whole point of this letter was to tell you: I love you, Rose. With both my hearts, ad my head, with my soul and the echoes of all my past regenerations that live inside my mind, I love you completely and utterly._

_Now, hopefully you're reading this before checking what else is in the envelope. You always read the card before opening the present at Christmas, your birthday, and all those other intergalactic celebrations that we've come across. But now, I want to explain what's else I've given you. The photos are there to remind you of all the good times. I have photos in the TARDIS, but when you went to Pete's world, you had nothing. So here's a few of the best photos printed out, as well as a 1TB USB with the others on it. Just don't let the wrong people get their hands on the USB, I think I might have accidently left some theories for a possible dimension canon on there. Oops. Oh, and if you're wondering what a Zygonimorphic transfirlator crystal is, you can get it from the heart of a Zygon ship. I hope Pete's Torchwood has one spare, because otherwise it might be hard to come by. Please don't go fighting any Zygons just to get the crystal._

_At the bottom of the envelope, there is small velvet drawstring bag. Inside it is something that I was meaning to give to you, Rose. The reason I took you on that visit to your mother's wasn't because the TARDIS washing machine broke, (I made that up), but because I wanted to do things the traditional way, and ask her permission. When I decided that I wanted the wall that I'd built to come down, I knew that I wanted you forever, and you know what happens when humans promise each other forever. I know it doesn't really have the same impact when it's not in person, but Rose Tyler, will you marry me? If - when - we find a way back to each other, will you become my wife? Mind you, I want you to be happy, so if there is someone else over there who makes you happy, please do not hold off on my behalf. But know that my hearts lie with you, even across the void. I will not move on unless you tell me to. I will never give up hope._

_With all my hearts,_

_Love,_

_The Doctor_

Underneath this was a hand drawn picture of circles and lines. Although it was in a language Rose had never been taught, somehow she could read it perfectly. At last, she knew what it was. The Doctor had shown her his name.

Rose opened the velvet bag and took out the ring. It was a delicate gold band with a beautiful TARDIS blue gem in the middle, surrounded by tiny white diamonds that glittered like the stars. With a shuddering sob, she slipped it on her finger, vowing to wear it forever.

_**Author's Note: That's it guys! Thanks for your support, and sorry for not updating for so long, this is just a really long chapter (as you can see). I know, the letter's quite soppy, but I hope you liked it.**_


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